The suffix -plasty indicates which of the following?

• A. Surgical repair
• B. Surgical opening
• C. Excessive, above normal
• D. Under, below, deficient

Answer: (A)

The suffix -plasty denotes surgical repair or reconstruction of a part. It signals a procedure that reshapes, repairs, or reconstructs tissue to restore normal form and function. That’s why terms like rhinoplasty (nose reconstruction) or angioplasty (repair/reopen a vessel by dilation) fit this suffix. It isn’t about opening something (that would be -otomy or -ostomy) and it isn’t about being excessive or deficient (those ideas come from prefixes like hyper- or hypo-, or from other suffixes). So the best interpretation of -plasty is surgical repair or reconstruction of a body part.